NationStates Jolt Archive

I tried to post the below comment on my RMB, and start a topic about the Truth 911 Campaign going on in America. To my utter shock I got the following message : Your message appears to contain inappropriate language.

So, thinking that it flagged the word "Dick" in Dick Cheneys name, I then decided to add an "e" to the end of it spelling it "Dicke".

I am not what, has caused this censorship thing on NationStates, but I find it rather suprising. And am petitioning the Government to remove this. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my post (context wise) (dispite the fact that the vice president threatened the nation (publically). Why is this being flagged? What target words are in this taht causes it to be flagged?

"If you frustrate us and divert us with congressional investigations of prior government knowledge, if you do this, You are insuring another attack... perhaps nuclear"

Dick Cheney
Meet the Press

--Referring to Government Sponcered Terrorism

Again, I am petitioning the Mods/Admins to tell me specifically what in my post is flagged, and why, and to remove this horrible censorship program.

Thank You.

Sorry for the double post, About your censorship thing, I have narrowed it down to the word Dick. I think the game should consider Dick to not be profanity as it is the name of many people. or perhaps just Dick with a capital D, and leave the lower 'dick' as profanity. anyway, this is rather suprising

The reason that dick has been placed into the filter is because there was a multiply-demonstrated need for it.

Use Richard instead.

alright. I just used D. Sorry if I was a bit frantic in that first post - it just really caught me off guard. I have never came across the filters before, how long have they been in place?

As far as I know, filters have always been in place, but I could be wrong.

It could be worse. On one website I used to go to, it flagged "wristwatch" as a bad word because of 4 letters in the middle of the word. It also mistook "tycoon" for a racial slur! :p

It could be worse. On one website I used to go to, it flagged "wristwatch" as a bad word because of 4 letters in the middle of the word. It also mistook "tycoon" for a racial slur! :p

Well Coon I believe is a racial slur on black people.

But that is like an old racial slur...isn't it?

Well Coon I believe is a racial slur on black people.

But that is like an old racial slur...isn't it?

"coon" may be a slur, but I got a few laughs at a filter that couldn't tell the difference between a racial slur, a storm (tycoon), or a furry animal (raccoon). All were blocked because of the last 4 letters. :p

Well, some sites don't allow you to talk about Alfred Hitchcock. Or Cockerels.

OCR']As far as I know, filters have always been in place, but I could be wrong.

I don't remember there being any.

It could be worse. On one website I used to go to, it flagged "wristwatch" as a bad word because of 4 letters in the middle of the word. It also mistook "tycoon" for a racial slur! :p
And your damned if you come from Scunthorpe.

The reason that dick has been placed into the filter is because there was a multiply-demonstrated need for it.
So people just replace the k by |<, or separate the letters by dots (people will read 'w.o.r.d' as 'word' without even thinking about it). So it doesn't solve the problem and just causes new problems with false negatives.

So people just replace the k by |<, or separate the letters by dots (people will read 'w.o.r.d' as 'word' without even thinking about it). So it doesn't solve the problem and just causes new problems with false negatives.

People could, but they haven't, so we haven't been forced to expand the ban list. We don't want to ban words because we think that there may be a problem, we only ban them after they have been grossly abused. Sort of an innocent until proven guilty view of language.

Well, you could use Duck Cheney! :D

Word-based blockers are simple but totally brain-dead.

I don't remember there being any.

Neither do I, and I have used vulgar language occasionally on RMBs. Haven't done it in a while though. I wonder when the filters were implemented.

I never saw these filters. I have seen people use terrible language on the Candleford and The Syndicate RMBs.

People (in those regions) will surely remember Poloz, who usedterms like of the sort to flame me, a lot.


So they must have been brought in sometime during the last 1/3 of a year.

"coon" may be a slur, but I got a few laughs at a filter that couldn't tell the difference between a racial slur, a storm (tycoon), or a furry animal (raccoon). All were blocked because of the last 4 letters. :p

Since when has a Tycoon been a type of storm. Perhaps you mean typhoon? Or for that matter, how long have tropical weather systems owned large businesses.

I feel sorry for people who live in Scunthorpe though...

Shorely shum mishtake

I remember back in the pre-Jolt days the filter on any variation on the word 'goat' - it would just come out g0at. Now, that was definitely required.

I remember a debate in a chatroom after a user was auto-kick-banned (no more than 10 minutes) for using the word "jewellry". The reason given was "Don't use the word 'Jew'".

While some could understand why the word "Jew" was not allowed, there was an argument over not being allowed to say any words containing those three letters in succession. One of the moderators finished it all by saying "It's just not allowed, accept it" and limiting all talk to voiced users for several minutes.

Some mistakes will find their way into every filter system (a forum replacing password with p***word comes to mind), and occasionally the persons in power can't be bothered to do something about it, or it's not entirely clear whether something should be allowed or not.

It's something the inhabitants of Scunthorpe will have to accept, I'm afraid ;)

Since when has a Tycoon been a type of storm. Perhaps you mean typhoon? Or for that matter, how long have tropical weather systems owned large businesses.

I feel sorry for people who live in Scunthorpe though...

Shorely shum mishtake

Oops, I guess I've been listening to too many weather reports! Although some of those tycoons DO generate a great deal of wind. :p

Or, perhaps, you could simply use "Vice President Cheney".

At any rate, there is a good reason why these types of things are in place, and there is no way for a machine to decipher the context of a combination of letters. I would not get upset with the moderators over this, as is this is no one's fault.

Where is you Truth 9/11 information. I would not mind reading it.

The Red Shinobi

Well, some sites don't allow you to talk about Alfred Hitchcock. Or Cockerels.

OOC: Apparently the official website for one RL location in Scotland refers to the shellfish which can be found in its coastal waters as "c***les and mussels"... :p